oops

Merlin knew that since Arthur had taken the throne that the living legend of the round table has spread like wildfire across Albion. Merlin also knew that no one repeating that legend was picturing his current situation. One can not claim to know true boredom till they are on hour three of a grain report delivered by Geoffrey of monotony.

Merlin had never wished he was Arthur more than in this moment, his feet ached from standing behind his king for so long that he was sure that if Morgana Burst through the door in this moment he would be too sore and brain dead to be sneaky and totally out himself to the court first and think later.

Surprisingly it was not Morgana who interrupted Geoffrey as hour four approached, god Merlin hates yearly audits. Instead the magical interruption that Merlin will never admit that he is eternally grateful for was a giant shiny portal opening above the infamous table and haphazardly dumping a tangle of limbs and exclamations of pain before disappearing as abruptly as it had appeared.

In a flurry of cursing and accusations the mass on the table quickly became a group of five young adults not older than 18 summers.

And for a second the room held in perfect surprise before a tall young man with an untamed mop of black hair and startling gray almost silver eyes, behind what looked like shards of glass held on his face with a frame of some kind, spoke up his eyes sliding closed in clear irritation, "Did you mean to do this?".

His words prompted action from the knights sitting at the table, all rising and pointing their blades at the intruders, trapping them on the table.

"I would really like to be able to say yes," her voice pulling Merlin's gaze toward her. Merlin almost missed the second thing she said because he was lost in familiar eyes set on a face that was both familiar and wrong in the same moment and he couldn't put his finger on it or where he knew it. "But I would be lying through my teeth if I did," so instead Merlin focused on Arthur's eyes instead of the eerily familiar face. Why did she have his eyes? Did Arthur have another surprise sister, or maybe Agravaine or Tristan had had a kid. After all Arthur got his eyes from his mother, but she was too young for Tristan so maybe Agravaine.

But what would Agravaine's daughter be doing showing up at a round table meeting with magic, would her father sat at the table own up to her or let her die for sorcery.

That thought process was of course derailed instantly when Arthur's dumbfounded voice spoke up in complete shock, "are you Merlin's sister?". Oh that’s why her face looked familiar.

Wait what? Why would Arthur think that? Arthur knew he was an only child. Well I guess Balinor could have. Holy shit did he have a little sister, what but no that doesn’t explain her eyes.

Her gaze now fixed on Arthur in a look of bizarre curiosity, "ugh no?" Her words came out a question but more like she didn't know how to even respond to that then doubt in her statement.

Before anything else could be said a bushy redhead with natural blond highlights whacked her over the back of the head like how Cook chastises those for stealing bites of food. "You land us in this situation and all you have to say is 'ugh no'".

Then the Aristocrat with pale blond hair behind them put in, "guys you should look at this" pointing at Agravaine, only to be ignored.

Maybe Merlin should revisit the Agrivaine’s kid thing.

"For god sake Arlin you can't barge into a round table meeting and then say, 'ugh no'. Do you ever listen to your etiquette lessons" the red head's tirade continued.

Only to be interrupted by the pale haired kids shout of, "Guys seriously look". Finally drawing the rest of their attention, only for all of them to go perfectly still.

"Someone please tell me that isn't lord Agravaine DuBois" said the young lady with Arthur's eyes. Merlin was actually going back to considering she might be the lord in question's daughter, maybe his dad had a sister he hadn’t brought up.

"To quote you, I would but I would be lying through my teeth" said the only one yet to talk, startling emerald eyes piercing through black hair as he gulped down a mouthful of air. Then seemingly unconnected he said, "we really did just fall out of a portal into the heart of Camelot, where magic is punishable by death, didn’t we."

After a silence that held the pressure of a mountain coming down on the people in the room he added, "anyone have any ideas how to not end up dead and therefore scar S's parents for life".

"Murder Agravaine and run" suggested the first one to talk which on second thought is probably the other two guys brother.

Merlin found it highly amusing that no one came to Agravaine's defense at that suggestion either invader or Camelotian. The invaders seemed more like they were physically pained that they were holding back and even the knights seemed no more concerned then a moment before.

Agravaine sputtered audibly at that before getting out, "you can't murder me, I am first advisor of Camelot" his haughty voice claimed. Not true by the way Merlin added mentally.

"No you're not" came the confused voice of Arthur eyes. Which what the fuck how does she know that.

"How would you know? your just sorcerer scum" Agravaine cut back angrily.

"That's rich coming from you" came the incredulous voice of the red head her face squinting in amusement like Agravaine was just a bad stain.

Merlin had no idea who these people were or if he would have to kill them in defense of his king but either way, oh my god that was hilarious. Thankfully Arthur couldn't see him; he would have seen the held back laughter.

"What does that mean?" Arthur's kingly voice cut through the action with a single syllable.

Arlin locked eyes with the king and said amusedly, "It means that Agritush, is working with the Blackmagic shell that remains of Au…." she trailed off mid word when two identical sets of emerald eyes bore into her, “morgana, of morgana” she added awkwardly.

Agritush, Merlin wasn't sure how much longer he would last without laughing.

Gaius, obviously annoyed with the lack of information they had on the newcomers, spoke up, “and just how would you know that?”, but where Arthur's best I am king act had garnered a sarcastic challenging response, all five of them shattered in the face of Gaius’ legendary eyebrow.

Which confused the ever living shit out of merlin, why the hell would some strangers be more afraid of an old physician then an armed king. Gaius’ eyebrow was infamous, just not that infamous.

“Ahh well” Arthur eyes started, eyes darting behind her as if asking her companion what to say.

But before she could continue Arthur spoke up, his voice laced in sorrow and wonder, “your merlin’s daughter aren’t you.”

What the fuck? When does Arthur think he had time to have a daughter let alone one that’s only ten years younger than him. Merlin knows he doesn’t think Merlin would be that ‘cool’ even if he hadn’t worked out his predisposition to men.

And she just stared back, at the two of them something unfathomable even in all the insanity of Merlin’s life twinning in her eyes, a magic like no other that burned silver naught gold. Her voice ringing with a tone that filled every fiber of Merlin with an all encompassing belief that what Arthur had said was true, without even a movement of her head.

As it faded his mind connected the odd after taste of her magic, the taste of magic he only felt doing one thing, one impossible thing. Pausing time.

And suddenly it clicked within him how she had Arthur’s eyes and apparently his face, well mostly he was going to ignore the blatant impossibility of what his eyes were suggesting and just blame magic and think about it later. Cause what the fuck?

Merlin would admittedly later on bash himself over the head for this move, but not wanting the rest of the room to understand him he switched languages. Without much thought to his actions or really anything thanks to the grain brain fog he gasped out in the language of the dragon kin, ‘you’re a pendragon’. The rest of his assumption passing between the two on a wisp of magic and the language itself.

Unfortunately not only had Merlin not really thought through the use of a magical language in the heart of Camelot he also hadn’t really thought about the fact that Pendragon was a name and so still understood by the rest of the room.

“Pendragon” came the king’s incredulous comment as he turned in his chair to lock eyes with Merlin, like the most important part of Merlin’s actions was invoke his last name in some identifiable way not the magical language he had spoken in.

A sudden and unprompted shout of “Yas” drew both of their gazes to the young princes, “you owe me 20 bucks” she said, sending a teasing smile at the one with shards of glass on his face. Unable to fathom the bet that she must have just won, Merlin fixated on the sheer amount of dear the young man apparently owed her.

The young man scrunched up in a pout as he turned to Arthur and said moping, “Dammit sir, why couldn’t you be like 30% less observant.”

Arthur obviously didn’t know how to take that so he raised an eyebrow in his best emulation of Gaius, “I would be a shitty king…” he paused awkwardly before he seemed to arrive at a decision. And based on the tension and deep breath whatever it was was something that had been plaguing him forever. Merlin wondered what it was, he didn’t like that. Normally he already knew. “By declaration of the king, magic is legal.”

“What” sputtered out about half the table, but Merlin wasn’t listening; he was too busy boring into the original Arthur eyes. And for a second nothing seemed to move the whole world freezing around them, but Merlin still heard music as the magic around above and inside him sung a song of joy and freedom.

It genuinely took the two a few minutes to hear the low disturbed coughs trying to interrupt them staring longingly into each other's eyes. When their eyes unlocked and looked it was to see the rest of the world genuinely frozen except Arlin awkwardly waving at them.

When it was clear she had gotten their attention he hands dropped to fiddle with her oddly designed tunic, before she said “As much as I would love to be able to hold the fact that I was the only witness to your first kiss over your heads.” Her face speaking bounds to exactly how much she actually wouldn’t want that, “could you unfreeze my husband and his siblings.”

Confused, Merlin asked, “don’t you mean time?” I mean he hadn’t just frozen them, although she had given him the important intel that these people would be family one day so there is that.

“Well I guess if you have to” she said her back turned to them as she rearranged the limbs of her companions so that the frames on the older brother’s face were now upside down, the two younger brother’s were picking each other's noses.

As she was manhandling the one that I guess was the sister, not that she really looked much like the others, into a sitting position with her legs all tied up and her arms held aloft, Arthur spoke up, “If he has to.”

She answered without looked up from where she was rearranging the girls clothes which had been completely changed to a yellow and red monk robe one silent silver swirl of the eyes ago, “well if Mad can separate us all from the timestream I might be able to get us to where I actually meant to go,” finally she looked up at them a sorta of sad weight to her eyes, “otherwise I will have to wait for my batteries to recharge”

Merlin didn’t know what to do with that in the slightest, it was obviously that she and probably even Arthur thought he knew how to do what she had just said but to frankly honest he didn’t even know what a fucking timestream was.

Arthur puzzled that for a second “so you want Merlin to do that hard part.”

She smiled at him with that same weight. This must be so weird for her. “No add, I want Mad to do the easy part so I can use his unique magical footprint to link us to the moment in time I actually wanted to go to.”

Now this confuses Merlin, not the nicknames contextually he could work around those, but his magical footprint shouldn’t mean she doesn’t have to power the spell just take out the navigational problems that had landed them here, so it must be some… Shit could she do that, “you can channel my magic through you” it was the only explanation.

She looked really sheepish to be caught out, and the face she started to make was scrunched up in so many places it was hard to guess what it meant, “kinda”, obviously something had shown in Merlin and Arthur’s faces because she kept going. “It’s not that I, or anyone else can use your magic” her gaze shifted up from where she sat on the table into his eyes, “when you freeze time. You essentially separate yourself from the rules and advantages of the world.” when it was obvious in Merlin and Arthur’s eyes that they understood she barreled on, her gaze now shifting to Arthur, “I know you don’t know much about magic Aad, but essentially a normal sorcerer doesn’t have magic within them they just know how to draw it from the air or life surrounding them.” At Arthur's thoughtful and mostly understanding nod she trudged on, “well here when time is frozen there is no magic to pull on, that’s why time travel and pausing time are at least currently considered impossible.” she looked down a sparkly silver tear dropping onto her finger, “when time is frozen you need to bring your own magic” and fuck suddenly merlin gets it, fuck. she held up her finger to the king so he could see her magic tear, “And as I said before normal people can’t” she scooted to the edge of the table her feet dropping over the side, a small smile enticing her face, “but me and Mad, were different I can store magic in every part of who I am” suddenly she slowly held her hand up raising a single finger as she started to make it glow silver before lowering it and raising now silver eyebrows in a perfect imitation of Gaius’.

Arthur who had been following along finally interjected, “you said you were both different but then you only said you could store magic?” Delivering the question clearly on his mind even if Merlin is pretty sure Arthur knowing is the last thing that should happen.

Unfortunately for merlin, Arlin cares as much as him for listening to authority, “Yes mad doesn’t need to store magic, uggh how do I put this,” then something flashes in her eyes and merlin doesn’t know how but somehow he knows this is Gaius enacting poetic justice.

“I can’t freeze time add,” well that got both men’s attention, and merlin was hoping he wasn’t the only one who could, she seemed so comfortable with it. “In order to freeze time you have to remove something that the natural order of things cannot do without.”

And then those eyes met his sadness and weight on her shoulder, “look around dad, this is a world without magic.”

Arthur, bless his adorable soul, looked around confused, “yes you already said that” before he mumbled out the side of his mouth to Merlin, “while doing magic, I might add.” before he carried on like he hadn’t stopped to say that for all to hear because there was eerily no other noise, “but that doesn’t explain why Merlin can.”

Sighing merlin finally answered the plea in his not yet daughter's eyes, “that is the answer Arthur, “ and when the king turned back to him, he gathered the strength freely given from his friend and carried on, “when your father enacted the purge he really did purge nearly all magic from the world, I'm not sure how, but he did. In response because, this.” merlin took a moment to stop and spin around, “Is what happens in a world with no magic, “Magic pooled all that it had lost to the purge into a singular person, more specifically a specific baby,” he finally looked up into Artur’s eyes, “born two years after the purge started just as the worst of the purge was done.” and then he couldn't look any more, his gaze dropped to his shoes before he saw terror and fear form in his king’s eyes.

Not long after he felt a strong hand gently tilt his face up, “you are magic itself, given a living form aren’t you.”

A tear slipped from Merlin’s eyes as he slowly nodded.
Only for the spell to be broken by their daughter from the future, honestly Merlin still hadn't wrapped his head around that “Wow you two really were emotionally stunted.”

Merlin shook himself out of it, “right, um so I just imbue them with magic and then you got the rest, right”

Her gaze shot to him in a second, obviously that statement gave away that he had never done this before, oops. But instead of saying something her gaze shifted to Arthur before she slumped forward into her hands and groaned, “fuck I hate my life.”

A concerned glace fleeted between the two will be dads before Arthur shifted forward, “are you okay?” he asked as he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“No” she grounded out, and when she looked up to their confused faces she sighed obviously not wanting to explain, “one time when I got especially curious and annoying Mad told me that the first time he ever brought add out of time he accidentally got himself pregnant because he had shit control over his magic and something about an uncontrollable surge of love, bleh.”

“It will be…” started Arthur before her words caught up with him “wait did you just say pregnant.” the silence sheeted around them for a second,

before merlin's words tumbled out “wait I’m pregnant, now.”

She quietly and awkwardly raised a thumbs up, before her face contorted and she said, “I am the only person in history to be actively involved in the moment they were conceived” before her voice slipped into a whisper as her head dropped into her hands again, “hence to face palming.”

No one knew what to say to any of that so the silence stretched for a while before Merlin decided enough was enough, “so I just imbue them with magic or what.”

Her head shot up and her eyes bulged, “no” she said quickly before taking a breath and explaining yourself, “you just accidentally impregnated yourself, you’re untrained, you can’t even recognize the difference in existence between when time is paused or not, and your control is shit up a stick. No, instead your umm…” she sat for a second thinking before her, I have a brilliant idea spark flashed in her eyes again, “your going to fill my tank and watch as I pump the clutch.“ she said with a broad smile like she had just solved their problems.

She obviously hadn’t factored in the fact that they had no clue what a clutch or gas were. But after a second of their looks it seemed to hit her like a runaway grain cart. “Your going to imbue me with magic every time I tell you to and I will imbue it into them since I actually know how and I happen to know I am ok ne of the few people you can't accidentally explode.”

“Could I have exploded Arthur,” Merlin asked in quiet fear.

Her gaze snapped to him worry ii n her eyes as she puzzled it through before eventually saying “no” immediately following through with a caveat, “almost anyone else yes, but Add is of magic because of his birth and magic can’t be used to eliminate magic, not entirely at least.”

And for a second she sat there before she added, “but I think you could have exploded his body since his physical body has nothing to do with the magic that made him.” she was visibly disturbed by the thought before she finished, "but his soul wouldn't have left so you could have fixed his body and he would have been fine.". Honestly Merlin didn't know what to say to that.

Before she let out a cute smile, “but you didn’t” pointing a finger at Merlin, “and you won’t hurt me.”

Merlin thought as that image burned into his mind over again, before he shuddered and met her eyes, “you better be alright.”

Her smile lit up, "don't worry Mad I am and even more born of magic then Dad." A kindness blowing on invisible silver breezes. And for some reason the only thing Merlin could focus on was when her voice turned from everyday teasing to comfort Arthur had gone from Aad to dad but he had still been Mad.